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Gallery: The Bionic Human Circa 2011

Posted 8.18.11 at 3:10 pm 4 Comments

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Eye: Retinal Implants that Use a Patient's Real Eyes

via BBC

Retinal implants are at a bit of a turning point, with the first major successes just now being seen. In the past decade, we've seen some minor successes with what are essentially video cameras plugged into the brain, but the level of detail available in those is limited to roughly "is it bigger than a breadbox" territory. The most impressive bionic eye at the moment, at least to me, was developed by researchers at University Eye Clinic in Tübingen, Germany, and implanted in 11 people with varying--but undeniably impressive--success.

This retinal implant is unusual in that it relies on a chip that's implanted into the patient's own eyes, doing the job the retina normally would: converting light that hits the eye into electrical impulses, and feeding those impulses into the optic nerve. A formerly blind Finnish man outfitted with the new chip was able to see letters, read a clock, and even catch the tricky researchers when they misspelled his name.

So that's the present (if by "present" we are loosely including anything that has been demonstrated, even if it's still years away from wide adoption, which I am). The future, however, looks absolutely insane for bionic eyes--check out the "runners-up" section below.

Current status: It's not currently being used by any patients; the researchers are working on higher-resolution models with power sources implanted beneath the skin. But with one working prototype under their belt, you can bet this one isn't too far off.

Runners-up: A European-Commission-funded group is working on a retinal implant that relies on nano-sized diamonds, Patrick Degenaar is working on LED-driven eyes, Oxford University is working on a pair of sight-restoring glasses, and a University of Oregon professor is working on an optic implant that relies on tiny fractals.

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Read the article: State of the Bionic Art: The Best Replacements for My Flimsy Human Parts

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4 Comments

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Onihikage

08/23/11 at 5:16 pm

The picture in slide 13 isn't an iron lung, it appears to be either the lung-on-a-chip, or the actual bionic lung discussed in the information area.

The artificial heart that doesn't beat sounds great to me. I've been cursed with the ability to hear my own heartbeat ALL THE TIME, at least in my right ear. It's very distracting. If my heart ever starts to fail, I'd seriously consider this as an option.

That is, if Washington would ever begin to consider the welfare of the poor and unfortunate over the prosperity of the rich. Otherwise very few could afford such a thing.

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Dublin992233

08/23/11 at 6:11 pm

Has anyone studied to see if the other complementary limb provides information that can be used by the lost limb? For instance walking. If my left foot finds I'm walking on sand - and I know I'm walking on sand "I can say that I am" can the combined sets of information be used by the prosthetic? Obviously yes, just wondering if that's been rolled into the mix. Same goes with the height of stairs. If you wore a special sock or sensor on the other foot or maybe a special watch...maybe it could help transmit information such as distance to object, temperature, texture, give...anything. Just a thought. Fascinating advancements. Just fascinating - thank you all for your progress.

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TrulyVisionary

08/24/11 at 2:23 am

The seeker of knowledge who seeks to reach beyond the stars to go where no mans gone before to see things no man has seen and bring these experiences back for the whole world to hear and see.

I would cut my hands and heart and lungs in a heart beat lol
for that stuff the lack of where and tear on the body from old or not fully functioning body parts would mean my life span would increase 2 fold given no anomalies popup like cancer or aid's but yeah i would do it and the DARPA hand i love that thing it's so futuristic i want one now and the lung and heart combo would be a life saver to of the most needed organs virtually age proof

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djmc993150

09/02/11 at 11:20 am

With respect to the bionic lung. This sounds somewhat dangerous. Part of the lungs' function is also fighting airborne diseases. A synthetic blood/air interface that doesnt appear to allow any interaction with the immune system seems to allow unfettered access to the blood for any airborn disease.

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